Iraqi courts sentence al-Qaeda, Islamic State members to death, life over terrorism charges

Diyala (IraqiNews.com) Diyala Criminal Court has sentenced four convicts to death over joining a terrorist group and committing crimes in the province in 2007, the High Judicial Council announced on Monday.

In a statement, Abdul-Sattar al-Bayraqdar, a spokesperson of the council, said “the court reviewed cases of four suspects who were convicted for joining al-Qaeda and carrying out terrorist operations.”

Among the operations, according to the statement, were “kidnapping and killing five members of one family and stealing money after attacking their house in al-Ghalibiya region, Diyala, in 2007.”

Moreover, the security committee of Diyala provincial council said three Islamic State members were sentenced to death.

Speaking to AlSumaria News, Sadeq al-Husseini, head of the committee, said “judiciary in Diyala sentenced three members of Islamic State to death, while the four others were sentenced to life.

Husseini added that several terrorism cases will be finalized soon.

Last week, Nineveh Criminal Court sentenced an Islamic State member, known as al-Muhajir, to death, while the Criminal Court in Baghdad sentenced two militants to life.

Many IS members were detained during liberation battles that freed cities, which were recaptured by the militant group in 2014. Thousands of militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016 to fight the militant group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.